Charles Albert of Sardinia

Charles Albert of Sardinia (2 October 1798-28 July 1849) was King of Sardinia-Piedmont from 27 April 1831 to 23 March 1849, succeeding Charles Felix of Sardinia and preceding Victor Emmanuel II of Italy. Charles Albert passed the first Italian constitution, authored the Statuto Albertino, and began the Italian Wars of Independence, although he was defeated militarily and forced to abdicate.

Sardinian nobleman
Charles Albert was born in Turin, Piedmont, Italy on 2 October 1798, the son of Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Carignano and Maria Christina of Saxony. He was a distant relative of Charles Felix of Sardinia, making him an heir to the throne. Charles Albert received an education in the liberal atmosphere of Geneva, Switzerland, and he became a Lieutenant of Dragoons in the Grande Armee of the First French Empire in 1814. He began to display liberal sympathies, but he gained the favor of the conservative Austrian Empire while serving in the French army sent to invade Spain in the "Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis" invasion of 1823.

King of Sardinia
In 1831, he succeeded Charles Felix of Sardinia as King of Sardinia-Piedmont, and he was known for his patriotic views. In 1833, he put down the republican Giuseppe Mazzini's conspiracy, but he introduced several reforms in the 1830s; he abolished domestic customs and trade barriers, supported the arts and sciences, and promulgated the Statuto Albertino, the constitution of Italy until 1948. In 1848, he agreed to create a constitutional monarchy, and he declared war on the Austrian Empire that same year, intending to liberate Lombardy from Austrian rule. However, he did not have the support of the Pope or other Italian rulers, leading to the Italian defeat at Custoza on 24 July 1848. After a crushing defeat at the Battle of Novara on 22 March 1849, Charles Albert was forced to sign an armistice with Austria in August 1849, and he decided to abdicate in favor of his son, Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, before retiring to Portugal. Charles Albert died in Porto on 28 July 1849 at the age of 50.